page_title: Hurricane Carol (1953)
section_title: Meteorological history
hierarchical_section_title: Hurricane Carol (1953) / Meteorological history
caption_attribution_description: English: Track map of Hurricane Carol of the 1953 Atlantic hurricane season. The points show the location of the storm at 6-hour intervals. The colour represents the storm's maximum sustained wind speeds as classified in the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale (see below), and the shape of the data points represent the nature of the storm, according to the legend below. Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale Tropical depression≤38 mph≤62 km/h Category 3111–129 mph178–208 km/h Tropical storm39–73 mph63–118 km/h Category 4130–156 mph209–251 km/h Category 174–95 mph119–153 km/h Category 5≥157 mph≥252 km/h Category 296–110 mph154–177 km/h Unknown Storm typeTropical cycloneSubtropical cycloneExtratropical cyclone / Remnant low / Tropical disturbance
context_page_description: Hurricane Carol was one of only four Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes to not have its name be retired, the other names being "Esther", "Edith" and "Emily". Carol was also the strongest storm of the 1953 Atlantic hurricane season and the first Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic basin since the 1938 New England hurricane. Carol is also the first named storm to attain Category 5 status. Carol developed on August 28 off the west coast of Africa, although the Weather Bureau did not initiate advisories until five days later. On September 2, Carol attained hurricane status, based on a ship report. It moved northwestward, attaining peak winds of 160 mph, based on reports from the Hurricane Hunters. After weakening, it brushed Bermuda and turned northeastward near New England, passing west of Nova Scotia before making landfall near Saint John, New Brunswick on September 7. While crossing Atlantic Canada, Carol became an extratropical cyclone, which dissipated on September 9 southwest of Greenland.
  When Carol initially threatened to strike Bermuda, several planes were evacuated from the island.
context_section_description: In late August, a tropical wave exited the west coast of Africa, developing into a tropical depression developed near Cape Verde on August 28. It moved west-southwestward for two days before turning to the west. The depression is estimated to have intensified into a tropical storm on August 31, and subsequently it turned to the west-northwest. On September 2, the S.S. Umatilla reported winds up to force 12 on the Beaufort scale, or hurricane strength; the ship also reported very high seas and a rapidly decreasing pressure. Based on the report, the Miami Weather Bureau office initiated advisories on Hurricane Carol about 750 miles (1200 km) east-northeast of Barbados.
  After reaching hurricane status, Carol embarked a steady intensification trend as it moved northwestward. On September 3, the Hurricane Hunters flew into the storm and reported winds of 160 mph (260 km/h), along with a minimum pressure of 929 mbar. This made Carol the strongest storm of the season. At its peak, the maximum winds were in an area 3 mi (4.8 km) in diameter across the center. The hurricane maintained peak winds for about a day before beginning to weaken. Early on September 6, Carol passed about 225 mi (362 km) southwest of Bermuda with winds of about 110 mph (180 km/h). The next day the hurricane turned to the north-northeast, bypassing Cape Cod by about 140 mi (230 km). Late on September 7, Carol brushed western Nova Scotia before making landfall near Saint John, New Brunswick with winds of around 75 mph (121 km/h). Shortly after making landfall, Carol transitioned into an extratropical cyclone, which crossed the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, eastern Quebec, and Labrador before dissipating southwest of Greenland on September 9.
caption: Map plotting the track and the intensity of the storm, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale
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